sltcc 2016 (keynote 2) evidence to action: why testa works
TRANSCRIPT
Evidence to Action: Why TESTA works
Tansy Jessop@tansyjtweets @TESTAwin
#SLTCC201624 June 2016
The plan
1. Brief overview of TESTA 2. Three change-related problems3. Three findings and strategies 4. Do we need a paradigm shift?
Why assessment and feedback matter...
1) Assessment drives what students pay attention to, and defines the actual curriculum (Ramsden 1992).
2) Feedback is the single most important factor in learning (Hattie 2009; Black and Wiliam 1998).
The TESTA Methodology
75 PROGRAMME AUDITS
Programme Team
Meeting
Based on assessment principles
• ‘Time-on-task’ (Gibbs 2004)• Challenging and high expectations (Chickering and
Gamson 1987)• Internalising goals and standards (Sadler 1989; Nicol
and McFarlane-Dick 2006)• Prompt, detailed, specific, developmental, dialogic
feedback (Gibbs 2004; Nicol 2010)• Deep learning (Marton and Saljo 1976).
Sustained growth
TESTA….
“…is a way of thinking about assessment and feedback”
Graham Gibbs
TESTA shifts in perspective from…
• ‘my’ module to ‘our’ programme
• from teacher-focused on module delivery to student experience of whole programme
• from individualistic modular design to coherent team design
• from the NSS to enhancement strategies
TESTA addresses three problems
Problem 1: Something’s going awry, but I’m not sure why
Problem 2: Curriculum design problems Problem 3: Evidence to action problem
Problem 1: ‘Not sure why’ problem
Problem 2: Curriculum design problem
Does IKEA 101 work for complex learning?
Content Vs Concepts?
The best approach from the student’s perspective is to focus on concepts. I’m sorry to break it to you, but your students are not going to remember 90 per cent – possibly 99 per cent – of what you teach them unless it’s conceptual…. when broad, over-arching connections are made, education occurs. Most details are only a necessary means to that end.
http://www.timeshighereducation.co.uk/features/a-students-lecture-to-rofessors/2013238.fullarticle#.U3orx_f9xWc.twitter
A Student’s lecture to her professor
Problem 3: Evidence to action gap
http://www.liberalarts.wabash.edu/study-overview/
Flawed Assumptions… • Main problem lack of
high quality data
• Logic will prevail
• Systems will change
Proving is different from improving
“It is incredibly difficult to translate assessment evidence into improvements in student learning”
“It’s far less risky and complicated to analyze data than it is to act”
(Blaich & Wise, 2011)
Paradigm What it looks like
Technical rational Focus on data and tools
Relational Focus on people
Emancipatory Focus on systems and structures
TESTA themes and impacts
1. Variations in assessment patterns2. High summative: low formative3. Disconnected feedback
Defining the terms
• Summative assessment carries a grade which counts toward the degree classification.
• Formative assessment does not count towards the degree (either pass/fail or a grade), elicits comments and is required to be done by all students.
1. Huge variations
• What is striking for you about this data?
• How does it compare with your context?
• Does variation matter?
Assessment features across a 3 year UG degree (n=75)Characteristic Range
Summative 12 -227
Formative 0 - 116
Varieties of assessment 5 - 21
Proportion of examinations 0% - 87%
Time to return marks & feedback 10 - 42 days
Volume of oral feedback 37 -1800 minutes
Volume of written feedback 936 - 22,000 words
Patterns over three year UK degrees (n=75) Characteristic Low Medium High
Volume of summative assessment
Below 33 40-48 More than 48
Volume of formative only Below 1 5-19 More than 19
% of tasks by examinations Below 11% 22-31% More than 31%
Variety of assessment methods
Below 8 11-15 More than 15
Written feedback in words Less than 3,800 6,000-7,600 More than 7,600
Actions based on evidence
a) Reduction in summative b) Increase in formative c) Streamlined varieties d) More, less or different feedback depending…e) Used evidence to inform a team approach to
curriculum design f) Every time a coconut with each feature
Theme 2: High summative: low formative
• Summative ‘pedagogies of control’
• Circa 2 per module in UK
• Ratio of 1:8 of formative to summative
• Formative weakly understood and practised
What students say…
• A lot of people don’t do wider reading. You just focus on your essay question.
• In Weeks 9 to 12 there is hardly anyone in our lectures. I'd rather use those two hours of lectures to get the assignment done.
• It’s been non-stop assignments, and I’m now free of assignments until the exams – I’ve had to rush every piece of work I’ve done.
What students say about formative
• If there weren’t loads of other assessments, I’d do it.
• If there are no actual consequences of not doing it, most students are going to sit in the bar.
• It’s good to know you’re being graded because you take it more seriously.
• The lecturers do formative assessment but we don’t get any feedback on it.
Assessment Arms Race
Actions based on evidence
1. Rebalance summative and formative2. It’s a programme decision3. Formative in the public domain4. Link formative and summative5. Require formative to mark summative6. Authentic assessment tasks work best…
Case Study 1
• Entire Business School (WBS)• Reduction from average 2 x summative, zero
formative per module• …to 1 x summative and 3 x formative• All working to similar script• Systematic shift, experimentation, less risky
together
Case Study 2: Blogging as formative
• Modular approach• Students read, write, and think more• Teach less, learn more• Dialogic, creative, reflective• Personalises learning• Develops ‘self-authorship’• Authentic digital task
Theme 3: Disconnected feedback
Take five
• Choose a quote that strikes you.
• What is the key issue?
• What strategies might address this issue?
What students say…
The feedback is generally focused on the module.
It’s difficult because your assignments are so detached from the next one you do for that subject. They don’t relate to each other.
Because it’s at the end of the module, it doesn’t feed into our future work.
I read it and think “Well, that’s fine but I’ve already handed it in now and got the mark. It’s too late”.
Students say the feedback relationship is broken…
Because they have to mark so many that our essay becomes lost in the sea that they have to mark.
It was like ‘Who’s Holly?’ It’s that relationship where you’re just a student.
Here they say ‘Oh yes, I don’t know who you are. Got too many to remember, don’t really care, I’ll mark you on your assignment’.
Actions based on evidence
• Conversation: who starts the dialogue?• Iterative cycles of reflection across modules• Quick generic feedback: the ‘Sherlock’ factor• Feedback synthesis tasks• Reflecting on improvement in relation to past performance• Technology: audio, screencast and blogging• From feedback as ‘telling’…• … to feedback as asking questions
It’s about educational paradigms…
Transmission Model
Social Constructivist Model
Impacts at Winchester
• Upwards trajectory on A&F scores on NSS on TESTA programmes – ‘Top 4’ University
• TESTA ‘effect’ - people talk about formative• Team approach to designing curricula• Design cycle for periodic review includes TESTA• Further research: JISC Fastech Project 2011/14 • Linked REACT Student engagement project 2015/17
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